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With the trade to the Kansas City Royals of Melky Cabrera, a small group of fans are continuing the tradition of dressing up as Melk Men to support Cabrera. John Sleezer and Josh TolentinoThe Kansas City Star

With the trade to the Kansas City Royals of Melky Cabrera, a small group of fans are continuing the tradition of dressing up as Melk Men to support Cabrera. John Sleezer and Josh TolentinoThe Kansas City Star

Melky Cabrera turns heel as Royals snap losing streak in Chicago

In theory, a baseball game cannot be distilled down to two moments. There are too many pitches, too many at-bats, too many plays on which the night can pivot.

Yet in the aftermath of the Royals’ 5-4 victory over the White Sox on Saturday night, a performance that snapped a five-game losing streak and turned a visitors clubhouse into a joyous scene, there were two moments on which to dwell.

Melky Cabrera had pounced on a 3-2 slider in the top of the eighth, ripping a two-run shot to left-center and rescuing the bullpen from another costly breakdown. Third baseball Mike Moustakas had gone sprawling with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, diving to his left and throwing across the diamond to save a run and preserve the win.

Two moments. Two men. Two plays that separated a sixth-straight loss from a .500 record and a feeling of relief.

“These are the kind of wins that help stop the bleeding,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

The Royals (58-58) did not craft the complete performance that they craved on Saturday night. They had not won since last Sunday against Seattle. The bullpen stumbled yet again in the seventh inning after starter Ian Kennedy offered 6 1/3 solid innings. A 3-2 lead turned into a one-run deficit when Kennedy issued a one-out walk and reliever Scott Alexander surrendered a double to Omar Narvaez and a two-out, two-run single to Leury Garcia.

But relief would come from the bat of Cabrera, the former White Sox outfielder who turned heel on Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Park.

Cabrera had spent nearly three full seasons here, manning a corner spot in the outfield, winning over the locals with his consistent hustle and goofy charisma. He feels a connection to this place, he says, one that breaks through the language barrier and his quiet demeanor. But in his first series back in Chicago, he jumped on a slider from the arm of reliever Aaron Bummer and deposited the baseball into the seats in left-center field.

“It was huge to answer back,” Yost said.

Cabrera had battled for eight pitches, falling behind in the count 1-2 before spoiling two sliders and a fastball. As the count went full, he was simply looking for something he could hit, he said. He saw a slider and reacted.

“I just want to help the team win,” Cabrera said in Spanish.

The inning had opened with a walk from Lorenzo Cain. He moved to second when White Sox rookie second baseman Yoan Moncada bobbled a ground ball. The late two-run surge held up as the decisive runs. The official save would go to closer Kelvin Herrera, his 25th of the season, while the unofficial one was recorded by the glove of Moustakas.

With two outs in the ninth inning and a man on second base, Chicago’s Adam Engel ripped a grounder to the left side. Moustakas flopped to his left and corralled the baseball before scrambling to his feet and firing a throw to first base. Eric Hosmer hauled in the final out and pumped his left fist. The Royals would blare rap music in the clubhouse for the first time since Sunday night.

“I was trying to keep it in the infield to make sure the run doesn’t score,” Moustakas said. “But I got a pretty good read on the hop, so I was able to get there.”

Moustakas attempted to credit Herrera for making a good pitch and inducing a ground ball. Yost sought to heap praise on his third baseman.

In the first 11 days of August, not much had gone right. The Royals had been outscored 74-46 while losing nine of 11. The bullpen had allowed 29 earned runs in 36 innings. The defense was a nightly question mark. On Saturday, they blunted the momentum and evened the series.

Still in the thick of the American League wild-card race despite 10 losses in 12 games, the Royals must now streak in the other direction to offset the cold start to August.

It will have to start with pitching. Kennedy was coming off consecutive starts across which he yielded 10 earned runs in 10 innings. His last outing was marked by inconsistent command and a rash of walks. In the moments after an 11-3 loss to the Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium, Kennedy appeared confounded by the mini-slump.

“It’s like you get into a funk,” he said.

In his previous six appearances, Kennedy had logged five ‘quality’ starts. In the days before taking the mound here in Chicago, pitching coach Dave Eiland discovered a slight mechanical flaw. Kennedy was pulling his head to the left during his delivery, causing his body to drift and his arm to lag. The issue was minor. Yet Kennedy sought to clean it up during a bullpen session this week.

The results were apparent on Saturday night. Kennedy allowed just two runs on solo homers from White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu in the fourth and sixth before another run came across in the seventh. The first blast came on a 1-1 fastball that moved in on Abreu. The second came on a 2-2 change-up that stayed in the heart of the strike zone.

Kennedy was also the beneficiary of some suspect base running on the other side. Moncada reached base on a passed ball in the first inning before being caught stealing on what might have been a missed hit-and-run from Abreu. Moments later, Abreu singled and Avisail Garcia followed with a double into the left-field corner. Alex Gordon retrieved the ball and threw a strike to the cutoff man. Abreu blew through a stop sign at third. And shortstop Alcides Escobar threw him out easily at the plate.

For Gordon, it was the 82nd outfield assist of his career, the most in the American League since 2010.

Garcia would later run into another out in the sixth when catcher Drew Butera backed up an errant throw from second baseman Whit Merrifield and relayed the throw back to second.

In moments, the White Sox were running as if they wished to end the Royals’ five-game losing streak themselves. By the end of the night, it was Cabrera and Moustakas who had stopped the slide.

“We know how good we can be, and we know we weren’t playing good baseball,” Moustakas said. “It’s definitely good to get a win.”

The Royals’ Eric Hosmer got a hug from teammate Melky Cabrera after Hosmer hit a solo home run in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017 in Chicago. Cabrera went on to hit what turned out to be the winning homer in the eighth inning in the Royals- 5-4 victory. Nam Y. HuhAP

Melky Cabrera hit a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the eighth inning Saturday. Nam Y. HuhAP

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